Introduction: FlightRadar on a Raspberry Pi

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Track nearby flights with your own Raspberry Pi and an awesome webinterface.

Step 1: Equipment List

For your personal flight tracker you need the following equipment:

Recommended:

Step 2: Construction

  1. Connect the DVB-T Dongle to your Raspberry Pi via USB
  2. Connect the antenna to the DVB-T Dongle
  3. Set up the Raspberry Pi
    How to set up the Raspberry Pi?

Step 3: Install Drivers for the DVB-T Dongle

  1. Install all required packages
    sudo apt-get install git build-essential cmake libusb-1.0-0-dev screen
  2. Clone the following git repository
    git clone git://git.osmocom.org/rtl-sdr.git
  3. Create a new folder in 'rtl-sdr'
    cd ~/rtl-sdr

    mkdir build

  4. Execute 'cmake' in 'rtl-sdr/build'
    cd build
    cmake ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON

  5. Compile the driver
    sudo make install
    sudo ldconfig

  6. Go back to your home directory
    cd ~

  7. Copy rules for the driver to avoid 'device not found' errors
    sudo cp ./rtl-sdr/rtl-sdr.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/

  8. Create a configuration file to block TV-Signals
    cd /etc/modprobe.d/
    sudo nano rtlsdr.conf

  9. Paste the following line at the end of the file
    blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu

  10. Reboot the Raspberry Pi
    sudo reboot

  11. Check the functionallity of the Dongle
    rtl_test -t
    Example Response:
    Found 1 device(s):0: Realtek, RTL2838UHIDIR, SN: 00000001

    Using device 0: Generic RTL2832U OEM Found Rafael Micro R820T tuner Supported gain values (29): 0.0 0.9 1.4 2.7 3.7 7.7 8.7 12.5 14.4 15.7 16.6 19.7 20.7 22.9 25.4 28.0 29.7 32.8 33.8 36.4 37.2 38.6 40.2 42.1 43.4 43.9 44.5 48.0 49.6 [R82XX] PLL not locked! Sampling at 2048000 S/s. No E4000 tuner found, aborting.

Step 4: Install the FlightRadar Software

  1. Clone the following git repository
    git clone https://github.com/PoscherAlexander/dump1090-flightradar.git
  2. Compile the files
    make
  3. Create a Google Maps Javascript API Key and paste it in 'dump1090-flightradar/public_html/gmap.html' on line 161 instead of 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'
    How to create a Google Maps Javascript API Key?

Step 5: Start the App and Watch Flights

Start the FlightRadar with the following command:

./dump1090 --interactive --aggressive --enable-agc --net

The FlightRadar is now available via the IP address of the Raspberry Pi and the port 8080

e.g. http://10.0.0.1:8080

Generally:

http://[IP_OF_THE_RASPBERRY_PI]:8080

If you want to enable additional information (e.g. plane model, airline, departure airport, ...) take a look here.


That's it! Have fun with your personal Flight Radar!

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me.